Subproject A

From Modernization to Globalization:
The contribution of the Visual Arts to the creation of a ‘New Middle East’

Project leader: Silvia Naef, Professor

Since the nineteenth century, visual arts have been a central aspect of the all-encompassing modernization process in the Middle East. What is generally (and problematically) called “Islamic art” (Grabar 1987) was replaced by Western inspired art through initiatives that were, at least initially, “top- down”. New patterns and techniques were adopted, constituting a sign of ongoing modernization. In the main centers of cultural production of the Arab world, where Western-style art first appeared, we can speak of three primary phases. In a first phase, the phase of adoption, “modernity” as a concept and as in the modern content of artistic production was assumed rather than discussed. A debate about it started in the 1940s, along with the emergence of independence movements and the strengthening of nationalism.

The notion of modernity (hadatha) appeared strongly tied to that of “authenticity” (asala) and modern art entered a phase of adaptation to what were deemed to be local models and forms of expression (Naef By the 1990s, globalization seized the formerly Eurocentric international art scene and artists from around the world – including the Middle East and the Arab world – were “co-opted” into the international scene (Quemin 2002, Dakhlia 2006). In the Arab world, the art market developed and a new class of connoisseurs, collectors, and audiences arose. In this new situation, the countries of the Arab Gulf – one of the pivotal sites of globalization on all levels – crystallized as major players – at least partly replacing the old nahda [Arab Renaissance] capitals in the Mediterranean region that had emerged in nineteenth century, thereby signaling a shift in the hierarchy of places of cultural production.